Bradley P. Jorden, 37, of High Ridge has been charged with assault following an alleged road-rage incident on Wednesday (Feb. 19) along Hwy. 30. He also allegedly charged at a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy and spit on a correctional officer at the Jefferson County Jail, the Sheriff’s Office announced
Jorden was charged today (Feb. 20) with first-degree assault, a class A felony punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison, and fourth-degree assault – special victims, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,000, according to court records.
At about 1 p.m. Wednesday, a deputy was called to the Steak ’n Shake restaurant, 1185 Gravois Road, in unincorporated Fenton after Jorden allegedly assaulted a 68-year-old Dittmer man who was the passenger in a van driven by his 63-year-old wife, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
The Dittmer couple told authorities they were in their 2012 Dodge Caravan headed west on Hwy. 30 and saw Jorden driving erratically, cutting off numerous vehicles and nearly causing an accident near Northwest Boulevard. The woman told deputies she honked her horn at Jorden, and she and Jorden exchanged hand gestures, the report said.
After that, the woman said, Jorden backed his Jeep into their van while they were stopped at a light on Hwy. 30. The woman followed the Jeep to the restaurant’s parking lot, and while she was calling the police, Jorden allegedly approached the van, opened the passenger door and punched the 68-year-old man in the face several times before fleeing the parking lot, according to the report.
The 68-year-old man was transported to an area hospital and then transferred to a different hospital for further treatment of his injuries, which were serious but not life-threatening, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
At 1:17 p.m., deputies located Jorden in the 4800 block of Country Club Drive in High Ridge, and he told deputies the victim had swung at him first. Jorden reportedly was injured during the encounter at Steak ‘n Shake but refused to be transported to a hospital, the probable-cause statement said.
After it was determined Jorden was medically fit to be detained, he was taken to the Jefferson County Jail, and while there, he allegedly charged at a deputy and spit in the face of a correctional officer. Jorden was being held today in the Jefferson County Jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond, the report said.